Family shellshocked as 5-y-o shot, dies

As the dreaded sound of gunfire sent chills down the spine of Cary Ambersley-Salmon, her 12-year-old daughter alerted her to the sound of her younger sister apparently vomiting.

But they faced their worst fears when they realised that five-year-old Denique Salmon was choking on her own blood.

“When mi look, mi see blood a come outa mi baby mouth. Har eye dem bulb out,” her emotionally torn mother exclaimed.

As rival factions traded bullets in the darkness on Riverside Drive in New Haven, St Andrew, a stray shot claimed the life of Denique as she lay in bed. She was pronounced dead at hospital after being shot in the head.

The tragedy unfolded some time after 1 a.m. on Thursday.

The blood-stained bedlinen served as a painful reminder for Ambersley-Salmon that she could have lost her older child as well.

With tears welling up, Ambersley-Salmon explained that the younger of her two children had been asleep on the bed when the bullet entered their board and zinc dwelling.

“A God mek the big one nuh deh pon the bed with her, or two a dem woulda lose one time,” she said.

“If the sister did deh beside her, it woulda go through she [as well].”

Struggling to contemplate the future, Ambersley-Salmon vowed to get justice for the killers of her daughter.

Denique, described as “a chip off the old block”, wanted to become a scientist, her mother said.

She said Denique was an inquisitive child who tried to fully understand her environment.

“She nuh ask normal question ... she wah know everything,” Ambersley-Salmon said.

Superintendent Kirk Ricketts, commander of the St Andrew South Police Division, lamented that the law enforcers were not immediately contacted when the shoot-out began. It is reported that the gunmen continued the firefight after the child had been hit.

“Even though we are not having high levels of murders and shootings, there continue to be reports of explosions [and] reports of persons continuing to shoot after each other,” said Ricketts.

A number of suspects were rounded up on Thursday.

Ricketts has pledged increased police surveillance in the community.

“We intend to find whosoever that remains in the community to take them out. We have already started as of early this morning, and we will ensure that there is a round-the-clock presence going forward,” said Ricketts.